Harper’s Island Retooled

I wonder just what it means to “retool” a TV show. Do you tear it down to its barest essentials and build it back up again with new talent? Maybe you just keep the title and premise and throw out anything else that made the show unique? Seems a bit cannibalistic to me.

I ask because this morning THR is reporting that CBS’s mid-season series “Harper’s Island” is getting a retooling, with Jeffrey Bell (“Angel”, “Alias”, “The X-Files”) being brought on board as showrunner/executive producer.

“Island” is described as Scream meets Ten Little Indians, focusing on a group of friends who are terrorized when they show up for a friend’s wedding off the coast of Seattle. That means we have either a very slow killer or a plot that’s being stretched out enough to last at least one season.

Only Elaine Cassidy (The Others) will remain in the cast during the show’s retooling; everyone else will have to look for a new gig. We’ll let you know when we hear more about when “Harper’s Island” will be on the air! For now you can check out a cool promo piece for the show below…